Heat shield for a dock pad

ABSTRACT

A dock pad for a loading dock includes a heat shield that helps protect the pad from heat generated by an adjacent lamp. The heat shield overlays an exterior surface of the pad, and, in some cases, the heat shield includes a plurality of layers. The thermal conductivity may differ among the layers with one layer having greater thermal conductivity than the exterior surface of the pad and another layer having less thermal conductivity. In some cases, a screen or mesh creates an air gap between the layers.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The subject invention generally pertains to loading dock pads andmore specifically to a heat shield for such a pad.

[0003] 2. Description of Related Art

[0004] When an exterior doorway of a building is used as a loading dockfor vehicles, especially trucks, the perimeter of the doorway typicallyincludes a seal known as a dock pad. A typical pad comprises aresiliently compressible foam core protected by a fabric outer covering.The dock pad seals off gaps that would otherwise exist between theexterior face of the building and the back end of the truck. Sealing theair gaps allows cargo from the rear of the truck to be loaded orunloaded while protecting the cargo and dockworkers from the weather.Usually a side dock pad runs vertically along each lateral edge of thedoorway, and a top or head pad runs horizontally along the doorway'supper edge.

[0005] Many loading docks include a dock light for illuminating theinside of the truck during loading and unloading. Often an articulatedarm supports the light so that the light can be easily repositioned andaimed into the truck. The arm is usually anchored to an inside wall ofthe building adjacent to the door of the loading dock or anchored to aninner edge of the doorway. The arm may have sufficient length andflexibility to extend the light through the doorway to fully illuminatethe inside of the truck. Afterwards, the arm can be retracted to bringthe lamp back inside the building for storage and to allow the door ofthe loading dock to close without closing on the lamp or the arm.

[0006] Unfortunately, if the lamp is placed too close to a dock pad,heat from the lamp may damage the pad. Thus, there is a need for adevice or a method for preventing such damage.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] In some embodiments, a heat shield is installed between a dockpad and an adjacent lamp to protect the pad from excessive heat.

[0008] In some embodiments, a heat shield has a lower thermalconductivity and a higher temperature resistance than an exteriorsurface of the dock pad.

[0009] In some embodiments, a heat shield is comprised of a plurality oflayers contained within an outer jacket.

[0010] In some embodiments, the plurality of layers have varying degreesof thermal conductivity.

[0011] In some embodiments, the heat shield includes a plurality oflayers that help protect a dock pad from heat. One layer may have agreater thermal conductivity than the exterior surface of the pad whileanother layer may have less thermal conductivity.

[0012] In some embodiments, the plurality of layers includes a mesh orscreen that creates an air gap between layers.

[0013] In some embodiments, the heat shield protects one side of a dockpad with that one side facing generally perpendicular to the wall of theloading dock.

[0014] In some embodiments, the heat shield wraps around two or moresides of a dock pad.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a loading dock whose dock padsinclude various heat shields.

[0016]FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

[0017]FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 1.

[0018]FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a heat shield being assembled.

[0019]FIG. 5 is a perspective view of another heat shield beingassembled.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0020] To create a weather seal between the rear of a truck 10 (or someother vehicle) and the perimeter a loading dock doorway 12, a dock padassembly 14 is installed, as shown in FIG. 1. In this example, dock padassembly 14 includes two side pads 16 and 18 mounted along the lateraledges of doorway 12, and a top or head pad 20 installed along thedoorway's upper edge. Pads 16, 18 and 20 are resiliently compressible,so as truck 10 backs up against them, the pads compressively andsealingly conform to the contour of the truck's rear edges.

[0021] Referring further to FIG. 2, dock pad 16 includes a resilientlycompressible foam core 22 covered by a tough, pliable outer cover 24.Pads 16 and 18 can be similarly constructed. In this example, core 22consists of a polyurethane or foamed polyester, such as, for example, anL24 open-cell polyurethane foam provided by Leggett & Platt of Carthage,Miss. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art; however,that a wide variety of other synthetic or natural foams may also workwell. In some embodiments, cover 24 is a 3022 MFRLPC DC7 materialprovided by the Seaman Corporation of Wooster, Ohio. Other examples ofcover materials would include, but are not limited to, HYPALON, canvasduck, rubber-impregnated fabric, and coated nylon fabric.

[0022] In assembling pad 16, cover 24 wraps at least partially aroundcore 22, and the two are attached to a relatively rigid backer 26, sucha formed steel channel or a wood board. Backer 24, in this example,provides a mounting surface for attaching pad 16 to a wall 28 of abuilding 30. A conventional fastener or anchor can be used to attachbacker 26 to the wall. Cover 24 can attach to the side edges or anysurface of backer 26 by any one of a variety of fasteners including, butnot limited to, screws, nails, VELCRO, rivets, hooks, adhesive, etc.Core 22 can be frictionally held to cover 24, or the two can be joinedin a more positive manner. For example, cover 24 can be connected tocore 22 with adhesive, straps, hooks, VELCRO, stitches, screws, etc.

[0023] In installations where the loading dock includes one or morelights 32 for illuminating the interior of truck 10, dock pad assembly14 preferably includes one or more heat shields, such as heat shields 34and 36. The heat shields help protect an exterior surface 38 of the padsfrom heat generated by the lights. Heat shields 34 and 36 areparticularly useful when lights 32 are supported by an articulated arm40 or gooseneck that can hold a light adjacent to a dock pad. In FIGS. 2and 3, for example, arm 40 can reach all the through the doorway toplace the light right alongside the dock pads.

[0024] The actual construction of a heat shield may vary; however,shield 34 of FIG. 2 and shield 36 of FIG. 3 are two currently preferreddesigns. Heat shield 34 comprises a plurality of layers contained withinan insulating jacket 42. For shield 34 of FIG. 2, a conventionalfastener 44 attaches one end 46 of shield 34 to a first side 48 ofbacker 26. For shield 36 of FIG. 3, a jacket 50 wraps around pad 22 withopposite ends 52 and 54 of shield 36 being attached to opposite sides ofbacker 26, which may hold shield 36 more securely. Jackets 42 and 50 canbe a heat-resistant fiberglass fabric, such as an Alpha Maritex Style#8459-2-SS, provided by Alpha Associates, Inc., of Woodbridge, N.J.

[0025] Although the layers and their arrangement within jackets 42 and50 may vary, surprisingly good results were achieved when the layersincluded an insulating layer 56, a conductive layer 58, a conductivemesh 60, another conductive layer 58, and another insulating layer 56.Insulating layers 56 inhibit heat transfer, conductive layers 58 reducelocalized heating by distributing the heat across a broader surface, andconductive mesh 60 provides an air gap that also inhibits heat transfer.In some cases, insulating layer 56 is 0.25-inch thick Rescor CeramicFiber Blanket, which is provided by Cotronics Corporation of Brooklyn,N.Y. Conductive layer 58 can be a 0.010-inch thick aluminum sheet. Andconductive mesh 60 can be an expanded metal screen made of aluminum,such as those provided by Wallner ToolingExpac, Inc. of RanchoCucamonga, Calif. The aluminum provides mesh 60 and conductive layers 58with greater thermal conductivity than the exterior surface 38 of pad18. Jacket 42 and insulating layers 56 have less thermal conductivitythan the average thermal conductivity of exterior surface 38.

[0026] For heat shield 36 of FIG. 3, the layers within jacket 50 may liealong one side of pad 18, as shown, or they may wrap around two or moresides of the pad. The materials and layers of shield 36 may be the sameas those of shield 34.

[0027] The assembling of heat shield 34 is shown in FIG. 4 where thelayers are placed one on top of the other, and jacket 42 is folded overto contain the layers. Items 62 schematically represent any conventionalsystem for holding heat shield 34 together. Examples of items 62include, but are not limited to, threaded fasteners, stitches, buttons,hooks, VELCRO, snaps, clips, adhesive, etc.

[0028] In another embodiment, shown in FIG. 5, a heat shield 34′includes several layers sandwiched within a two-piece jacket 42′. Items62 can hold the two pieces of jacket 42′ together. Jacket 42′ can bemade of the same material as jacket 42.

[0029] Although the invention is described with reference to a preferredembodiment, it should be appreciated by those skilled in the art thatvarious modifications are well within the scope of the invention. Forexample, the illustrated dock pads could have L-shaped or othercross-sectional shapes that differ from those illustrated. Moreover, theshape of the head pad could be different than that of the two side pads.One or more heat shields can be applied to just the head pad, just theside pads, or applied to both the head and side pads. Therefore, thescope of the invention is to be determined by reference to the claimsthat follow.

We claim:
 1. A dock pad assembly adapted to provide a seal between abuilding and a vehicle, comprising: a dock pad attachable to thebuilding and being adapted to seal against the vehicle; and a heatshield overlaying an exterior surface of the dock pad, wherein a portionof the heat shield has a lower thermal conductivity and a highertemperature resistance than the exterior surface of the dock pad.
 2. Thedock pad assembly of claim 1, further comprising a backer adapted toconnect the dock pad to the building, wherein the heat shield has afirst end anchored to a first side of the backer.
 3. The dock padassembly of claim 2, wherein the heat shield has a second end anchoredto a second side of the backer, wherein the first side and the secondside are at opposite sides of the backer.
 4. The dock pad assembly ofclaim 1, wherein the heat shield includes a plurality of layers.
 5. Thedock pad assembly of claim 4, wherein the plurality of layers includes aconductive layer and an insulating layer, wherein the conductive layerhas greater thermal conductivity than the insulating layer.
 6. The dockpad assembly of claim 4, wherein the plurality of layers includes aconductive mesh, wherein the conductive mesh has greater thermalconductivity than the exterior surface of the dock pad.
 7. The dock padassembly of claim 6, wherein the plurality of layers includes twoconductive layers that have greater thermal conductivity than theexterior surface of the dock pad, and the conductive mesh is sandwichedbetween the two conductive layers.
 8. The dock pad assembly of claim 4,further comprising an insulating jacket that contains the plurality oflayers, wherein the insulating jacket has lower thermal conductivitythan the exterior surface of the dock pad.
 9. The dock pad assembly ofclaim 4, wherein the exterior surface of the dock pad has an averagethermal conductivity that is greater than one layer of the plurality oflayers and less than another layer of the plurality of layers.
 10. Thedock pad assembly of claim 4, wherein the plurality of layers includes aconductive later sandwiched between two insulating layers wherein theconductive layer has greater thermal conductivity than the twoinsulating layers.
 11. The dock pad assembly of claim 1, furthercomprising an articulated arm attached to the building and a lampattached to the articulated arm such that the heat shield is between thedock pad and the lamp.
 12. A dock pad assembly adapted to provide a sealbetween a building and a vehicle, comprising: a foam core; and a pliablecover overlaying the foam core, wherein the pliable cover has a firstexterior surface and a second exterior surface, wherein the firstexterior surface has a lower thermal conductivity and a highertemperature resistance than the second exterior surface.
 13. The dockpad assembly of claim 12, further comprising a backer adapted to connectthe dock pad to the building, wherein the first exterior surface has afirst end anchored to a first side of the backer.
 14. The dock padassembly of claim 13, wherein the first exterior surface has a secondend anchored to a second side of the backer, wherein the first side andthe second side are at opposite sides of the backer.
 15. The dock padassembly of claim 12, further comprising an articulated arm attached tothe building and a lamp attached to the articulated arm such that theheat shield is between the dock pad and the lamp.
 16. A dock padassembly adapted to provide a seal between a building and a vehicle,comprising: a dock pad attachable to the building and being adapted toseal against the vehicle; an articulated arm attachable to the building;a lamp attached to the articulated arm such that the articulated arm cansupport the lamp adjacent to the dock pad; and a heat shield attached tothe dock pad at a position where the heat shield is between the lamp anddock pad.
 17. The dock pad assembly of claim 16, further comprising abacker for connecting the dock pad to the building, wherein the heatshield has a first end anchored to a first side of the backer.
 18. Thedock pad assembly of claim 17, wherein the heat shield has a second endanchored to a second side of the backer, wherein the first side and thesecond side are at opposite sides of the backer.
 19. The dock padassembly of claim 16, wherein the heat shield includes a plurality oflayers.
 20. The dock pad assembly of claim 19, wherein the plurality oflayers includes a conductive layer and an insulating layer, wherein theconductive layer has greater thermal conductivity than the insulatinglayer.
 21. The dock pad assembly of claim 19, wherein the plurality oflayers includes a conductive mesh, wherein the conductive mesh hasgreater thermal conductivity than the exterior surface of the dock pad.22. The dock pad assembly of claim 21, wherein the plurality of layersincludes two conductive layers that have greater thermal conductivitythan the exterior surface of the dock pad, and the conductive mesh issandwiched between the two conductive layers.
 23. The dock pad assemblyof claim 19, further comprising an insulating jacket that contains theplurality of layers, wherein the insulating jacket has lower thermalconductivity than the exterior surface of the dock pad.
 24. The dock padassembly of claim 19, wherein the exterior surface of the dock pad hasan average thermal conductivity that is greater than one layer of theplurality of layers and less than another layer of the plurality oflayers.
 25. The dock pad assembly of claim 19, wherein the plurality oflayers includes a conductive later sandwiched between two insulatinglayers wherein the conductive layer has greater thermal conductivitythan the two insulating layers.